Lawrence C. “Larry” Vera, 88, of Fort Myers, Florida and formerly of Fairhaven and Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, passed away Tuesday, November 23rd, 2021, at Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers surrounded by his loving family.
Born in New Bedford, Massachusetts on April 23, 1933, he was the son of Charles and Mary (Lawrence) Vera. He was predeceased by his wife of 48 years, Elizabeth (Walsh) Vera and his son-in-law, Joseph M. Vincent.
Larry is survived by his children, his daughter, Patricia L. Tassone and her husband James of New Berlin, Wisconsin, his daughter, Carol A. Vincent and her partner Leonard White of Dracut, Massachusetts and his son, Steven L. Vera and his wife Kim of Willington, Connecticut. He is also survived by his sister Vivian Page of Grand Rapids, Michigan. The pride and joys of Larry’s life were his grandchildren – Larissa Vincent, Jonathan Tassone, Jason Tassone, Greta (Vincent) Kennedy, Luke Vincent, Hannah Vincent, Kaeley Vera and Nicholas Vera. He was also blessed to have six beautiful great-grandchildren – Aiden, Isaac, Brynn, Cormac, Vincent and Briella. He was fortunate to have a wonderful companion, Donna Bray of Fort Myers, for the last several years of his life.
Upon graduating from New Bedford High School in 1951, Larry enlisted in the United States Navy active duty for four years achieving the rank of First-Class Petty Officer and continued his service with an additional 23 years in the Naval Reserves. He was also an active member of the American Legion up until his passing.
He retired from H.P Hood & Sons in 1996 after a long career as a salesman in the food industry.
Larry was active in youth sports while living in Shrewsbury as a long-time coach and former Board Member of Shrewsbury Youth Hockey Association and a founding member of Shrewsbury Youth Soccer in the early 1980s. After his retirement, Larry joined his long-time friend, John Brennan, as an Assistant Coach for the Varsity Soccer teams at Fairhaven and Westport High Schools.
Larry moved to Fort Myers in 2004 after the passing of his wife and had so many wonderful friends – his golfing buddies at Myerlee Country Club and his friends at Jamaica Bay where he lived. He was playing golf twice per week up until his passing and played 18 holes on the day of his accident. He was very proud of his hole-in-one at the age of 87 in November 2020. He enjoyed his television “binge watching” with Donna and the time he spent with her at dances or other events within their community. He loved living in southwest Florida and was proud to host his family for visits throughout the fall and winter months. He then headed north to summer on West Island in Fairhaven, Massachusetts with his family and also visited family in Wisconsin.
Larry traveled extensively during his retirement. He enjoyed attending his naval ship (USS Huse – DE 145) reunions which took him to New Orleans, Savannah, Jacksonville, and Branson multiple years. He also traveled internationally visiting Portugal (Azores – where his family was from), China, Italy, Greece, Croatia and sailed the U.S. Virgin Islands.
His visitation will be held on Thursday, December 2nd from 4 pm to 7 pm at the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for Funerals, 50 County Road, Route 6, Mattapoisett, Massachusetts. His Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Friday, December 3rd at 10 am at St. Mary’s Church, 440 Main Street, Fairhaven, Massachusetts. Burial will be held privately. Masks will be required for all at both the visitation and Funeral Mass. The family also plans on hosting a celebration of Larry’s life in Fort Myers at a later date. For directions and the online guestbook, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.